Day 10

Descending from the magnificent Gran Sasso, we tour the battleground of the Anzio Beachhead, with a stop at Latina, site of an incredible museum of modern history.

Sunrise from my window at Campo Imperatore, reveals the magnificent vista of the Gran Sasso. This view overpowers the tug of history and brings appreciation for the natural beauty of the land we've been touring for the past nine days.

The "other" Mike boards the cable car which will take us down the mountain to our van.

Descending from Campo Imperatore. The town ahead is Assergi.

Great contrasts lie ahead this day. Awakening to snowy temperatures in the 40's, we'll return to humid 90 degrees of Southern Italy. We'll leave the snow-peaked mountains of Abruzzi and travel to nearly flat Anzio. From a heavenly 18 hour ski-vacation, we'll return to the hell of one of the most difficult battles of World War II.

Arriving at the terminus of the cable car reminded me of the Staten Island Ferry docking and made me homesick. Note how our tour van dwarfs the typically tiny cars of Italy.

The famous Route 7. This is one of the the two main routes from the South of Italy to Rome. Sidney Heistein fought along Route 7 and was later buried near it in Avellino, near Naples. Here, Route 7 runs past Cisterna, the main objective of the Anzio landing and continues on its way to Rome, some 30 miles North. The tree-lined highway is little changed from January, 1944 when it marked the front line of the long stalemate that was to become of the Anzio landing.

	Sunrise from my window at Campo Imperatore, reveals the magnificent vista of the Gran Sasso. This view overpowers the tug of history and brings appreciation for the natural beauty of the land we've been touring for the past nine days.
	The "other" Mike boards the cable car which will take us down the mountain to our van.
	Descending from Campo Imperatore. The town ahead is Assergi.
	Great contrasts lie ahead this day. Awakening to snowy temperatures in the 40's, we'll return to humid 90 degrees of Southern Italy. We'll leave the snow-peaked mountains of Abruzzi and travel to nearly flat Anzio. From a heavenly 18 hour ski-vacation, we'll return to the hell of one of the most difficult battles of World War II.
	Arriving at the terminus of the cable car reminded me of the Staten Island Ferry docking and made me homesick. Note how our tour van dwarfs the typically tiny cars of Italy.
	The famous Route 7. This is one of the the two main routes from the South of Italy to Rome. Sidney Heistein fought along Route 7 and was later buried near it in Avellino, near Naples. Here, Route 7 runs past Cisterna, the main objective of the Anzio landing and continues on its way to Rome, some 30 miles North. The tree-lined highway is little changed from January, 1944 when it marked the front line of the long stalemate that was to become of the Anzio landing.